Munsyi Abdullah

Father of Modern Malay Literature is an epithet often ascribed to Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi, a Malay author who lived in Melaka and Singapore during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi (1796–1854), born in Melaka of mixed Arab and Tamil-Muslim parentage, may have inspired many scholars and educators of Malay studies.

Having brought up by a very religious family background, Abdullah was made to learn Islam and the Quran since his childhood. In fact, it was his first education he received through his grandmother since she was a Quranic teacher.

His father made him to study and read the Quran with proper teachers. After that, then only he was made to learn other languages including Tamil, Hindu, English, and Chinese.

Two of his works, Hikayat Abdullah (tale of abdullah) and Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Kelantan (account of Abdullah’s voyage to Kelantan) are the stories most often singled out as those that form the bridge between traditional and modern Malay writing. As a language teacher and writer, Abdullah was mainly working for European and American administrators, merchants and missionaries in Singapore and Melaka.

Munsyi Abdullah lived at the beginning of the colonial period, which started around 1850. It was the beginning of Malay printing in the peninsula centered in Melaka and Singapore.
Munsyi Abdullah